‘Push-away led to fatal stabbing’

Press, 21 May 1982, Page 5

‘Push-away led to fatal stabbing’

A young woman accused of murdering her de facto husband in a house in Woolston on the early morning of March 26 told a detective that when her husband hit her nephew aged 12, who tried to intervene, she got angry and pushed her husband away. It was then that the knife entered her husband's body. Evidence of-this was given in the District Court yesterday.

The woman, aged 23, a receptionist, was committed for trial in the High Court on a charge, which she denied, of murdering her de facto husband aged 31. Depositions of evidence of 21 prosecution witnesses were given during the twoday hearing. Messrs M. B. Hayes and L. M. Hooker, Justices of the Peace, remanded the defendant in custody to June 28, pending a date for trial. Interim suppression of her name was continued. Mr S. G. Erber and Mr B. M. Stanaway appeared for the Crown and Mr D. I. Jones and Mr R. S. Simes, for the defendant. Defence was reserved. Evidence on the first day on Wednesday was that, the defendant had ended her relationship with her de facto husband after she had found him naked in a hotel bedroom with another woman. He had returned to her house although told not to enter, after police had been called. The next evening, soon before the alleged stabbing, he returned and argued with the defendant. The defendant’s nephew aged 12, said yesterday he and his sister had been staying the night with the defendant, who left for the evening with a friend. She told her nephew that if her husband returned, not to let him in but tell him to call the next day. He was awakened later by his aunt returning.

Later, he heard his aunt’s husband say; “you think you’re big because you’ve got a knife.” His aunt then came into

the room where he and his sister were sleeping and asked him to call the police. Her voice sounded as though she had a sore throat. Her husband then entered, and punched her a number of times. He grabbed the man’s leg but his grip was shaken off.

His aunt asked him again to call the police and then left the room. He heard banging in the kitchen. He was pretty scared.

He went out to the letter box to find the house number.

When he returned, the couple were struggling and his aunt held a knife. The man held her wrist. The boy told the man to get lost and to just go away, but the man pushed him against a wall. The boy hit his head and fell into an adjoining room. When he got up and looked back he saw the man stumble backwards. His aunt had the knife in her hand and it had blood on it. She tried to catch the man, and asked the boy to call for an ambulance and the police. Cross-examined, the boy said his aunt told him to lock everything up when she went out. She said she was concerned he might return. He said he and his aunt were very scared of the man

because of what he was doing. Detective R. P. Bruce, said that when he arrived at the house the defendant was in a distraught state, trying to make her husband comfortable. She said the police had removed the man the night before, and asked why the police had not made out a non-moiestation order against him. The defendant stated that the knife was in the lounge, where it had been when the police left at 5 a.m. the previous morning. When her nephew told him to leave he pushed the boy and she told him not to lift a hand to the boy. She then pushed her husband away with both hands. That was when the knife went in. Dr L. L. Treadgold, a pathologist, gave evidence of a post-mortem examination on the deceased’s body. This indicated that death resulted from an incised wound of the left lung. Cross-examined, he said he could not tell whether the knife wound could have resulted from an “accidental” pushing away, rather than a deliberate stabbing.